Big Shoes to Fill
by Alesandra Night
Summary: Donny had met a woman before who had taken his heart away. This is about the after-affects of a letter she sends 4 years later. Note: I don't know anything about baseball. Or Manhattan.


**A/N: Oh my god. Eli Roth tweeted me. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't updated "The Arrangement" yet. I have a writer's block when it comes to that story, but I promise I'll update soon.**

_Donny, You've probably fucked some French harlot in some dirty, run-down brothel already. I wouldn't be surprised. You've always thought with your phallus. Mama Donowitz convinced me to write this to you. You have a son and his name is Liam. He's a mirror image of you. Don't call me a slut or tell me he isn't yours because we both know that you're the only man I've ever been with. If you want to know, he was born three years ago. I don't know how your mother found out about him, but right after you left for France, she marched right to New York and yelled at me. Can you imagine your mother on the corner of 6__th__ Avenue yelling at me for not telling her precious boy about his son? I couldn't believe it either. It was hilarious and a little scary. Liam loves her, and Mama Donowitz was fawning all over her little "Einnikel".  
>That's beside the point. Liam has never had a man in his life and everyday he asks me about his father and I'm tired of never being able to answer him. If you get back from the war, see him. Play baseball with him someday. He's a killer pitcher and he's got a mean throw. He loves the Boston Red Sox, even after Joey tried to convert him to the Yankees. He even tried to wear a Red Sox hat to Yankee Stadium.<em>

_I hope you don't think that this means that I want us to get back together. I don't. I'm only writing this to you for Liam's sake. Matter of fact, I hate you Donald Donowitz. You called me a whore in front of everyone in your dad's barbershop, you made almost everyone in Boston think a no-good slut like Angie DeMonica, and you never even apologized for what you did. So do something decent in your life and stay alive so you can visit your son. Don't let him down. It wouldn't be fair to him._

_-Ellie_

_P.S: I'm lying. I still love you and I miss you. Don't ignore me for another four years. I'm sorry for what I said when I left. I didn't mean it. Please come home._

Donny read the letter over and over.  
>"<em>You have a son.<em>"  
>"<em>I still love you<em>."  
>"<em>Please come home<em>."

"Hey, Donny!" He heard Aldo call.

"Yeah?"

"We got a German here who wants to die for his country. Oblige him." Donny picked up his bat and tucked the letter in his pocket. As he began to walk to the opening, Donny realized that he could never promise Ellie that he'd come home. Kissing the ring he wore around his neck, Donny began to hit the wall with his bat in an offbeat. A sudden thought crossed his mind. _What if the war never ended? Would Ellie and Liam be gassed along with other women and children? _Blinking away the tears, Donny walked out into the daylight. The men began to cheer, but Donny ignored them and continued to walk to Werner. He tapped a badge on Werner's uniform.  
>"You get that for killing Jews?" he asked.<br>"Bravery." Yeah. And Teddy Williams played for the Yankees. Running the bat down the side of Rachtman's head, Donny let himself go.

_**6 months later…**_

Utivitch paced in front of a chipped, wooden door. Moments like this were never easy. Swallowing his nervousness, he knocked. A beautiful woman with bright eyes opened the door. She was covered in flour and a hint of a smile played around her curvaceous lips, as if she had been laughing only moments before. A small child of about four years of age clung to her leg, peering up at the solemn-looking stranger. Ellie took one look at Utivitch and knew that he was the bearer of bad news.  
>"Liam, go to Mrs. Nyland's. Tell her I have a visitor and ask if you can stay for a while." Liam opened his mouth to argue but was silenced by a look from his mother. Grudgingly, the child exited the apartment, but not before casting a wondering look at Utivitch.<br>"Please, come in." Taking off his hat, Utivitch stepped through the doorway and closed the door.  
>"Miss-" he began.<br>"Coffee? Tea?" she offered. Utivitch shook his head.  
>"I'm afraid I have bad news." Ellie walked to the living room and sat down on a worn couch.<br>"He's dead, isn't he? Somehow I knew, just looking at your face." She looked up at Utivitch who was standing in the doorway. "How did he die?".  
>"He walked in to a movie premiere with a bomb strapped to his ankle. He tried to get out of the assignment, but the original man died in an incident. I'm sorry, but no one was found alive."<br>"So, it was a suicide mission. I've always thought that he would die in combat." Utivitch walked into the room and sat down in an armchair across from Ellie.  
>"I served with Donny in France. We were called the 'Basterds' by the Germans. Donny's nickname was 'The Bear-Jew'". Ellie's mouth quirked for a moment.<br>"Before he went into the theatre, he gave me these to give to you." Utivitch pulled a dog tag, a ring on a metal chain, and a worn piece of paper out of his pocket. Ellie reached forward and took them, her eyes moist as she studied the ring. Utivitch stood up.  
>"If you need anything, go to Scamadelli's grocery on 3rd and 22nd street. Joseph will tell you where I am." He walked to the apartment door and looked back.<br>"Donny was a good man. He loved you and Liam. The last three days before the mission he wouldn't shut his trap about how Liam was going to play for the Red Sox. The letter is for Liam when he turns 15." With that said, he left.

"Mommy?" Ellie looked up to see her concerned son. "Mrs. Nyland saw that man leaving and said I could come back.  
>"Come here, Liam." Closing the door, Liam walked into the living room and sat beside his mother. Ellie placed the dog tag around his neck.<br>"Liam, this belonged to your father. He was very special to me. I'm giving it to you now because-". Ellie couldn't hold her tears back any longer. Her shoulders started to shake as tears fell down. Liam tried to comfort her the only way he knew how. Wrapping his arms around her, he began to whisper  
>"It's okay, Mommy. I'm here Mommy." It took almost an hour for her to stop crying. Looking at the worried Liam, she wrapped her arms around him.<br>"I'm sorry, baby. Your father meant a lot to me. Losing him made me very sad." Liam looked at the name inscribed on the dog tag.  
><em>Donowitz, Donald<em>  
>He had never met his father. Losing him had made his strong mother cry. This was the moment that Liam realized that he had big shoes to fill.<p>

**Epilogue**

On the day of her death on December 24, 1990, Ellie wore two rings on her left finger. The first one was the same one that Utivitch had handed her in 1945, and the second was the one that he had slipped on her finger on March 27, 1949. Her last words were "Fuck a duck."

Liam met Michele Adeline Raine when his team, the Boston Red Sox, was competing against the Jackson Generals. They were married on September 14, 1963. They had a son, Donny Elijah Donowitz on April 18, 1965. Two years later, Michelle gave birth to Adelle Aldo Donowitz.

Liam kept the letter in a safe below his bed. On the day of his death, he read it to his two children and weeping wife.

_Liam,  
>if you're reading this, I'm dead. You might not be able to forgive me, but it had to be done. I wish I could have played baseball with you and taken you to see a Red Sox game. You're the man now. I want you to take care of your mother. Make sure she doesn't go <em>_batshit __crazy. I have some money in the bank in Boston. Take it all. Tell your mother to tell Andrew that if he doesn't give to her I'll come back and shove a cactus up his penny-rubbing ass. Don't give your mother trouble. I remember when I was your age. If you ever get lucky enough to get a girl like your mother, DON'T LET HER GO. Women like her only come once in a lifetime. Practice your swing and you'll go places. Don't ever be afraid to take a stand for what you believe in._

_Your father,  
>Donny Donowitz <em>**  
><strong>


End file.
